About Boom Truck Cranes
Boom truck cranes, often called tree cranes or tree service boom truck cranes, are useful for safely removing trees and moving heavy landscaping materials on any jobsite with relatively level ground. These hydraulic telescopic or knuckle boom cranes have less load capacity than larger mobile or crawler cranes, but they make up for it with easy transit on public roads thanks to the commercial trucks they’re mounted on.
2025 Manitex 30100C Boom Truck Crane
Simple transportation, quick setup time, and other factors make new and used tree cranes a good fit for arborists, landscapers, and tree care professionals, as well as contractors and utility providers.
How Boom Truck Cranes Excel In Tree Care & Landscaping Jobs
Tree cranes have the power and reach to perform large tree removal, as well as to unload pallets of paving stones, bricks, and decorative boulders for large landscaping projects.
Their lift capacities range from around 10 tons (9 metric tons) for compact models to more robust cranes capable of lifting up to 50 t (45 mt) like the National NBT50, or even 65 t (59 mt) like the Altec AC65E-155S.
Maximum lift heights or tip heights in Elliott’s boom truck family range from 48 feet (14.6 meters) for the model 1838 to a dizzying 207 ft (63 m) for the Elliott 45142.
A wide range of options and attachments make boom truck cranes suitable for a variety of other jobs as well. Besides a hoisting system and pallet forks, a boom truck can be fitted with a 1- or 2-man basket (work platform) or a grapple.
Types Of Tree Cranes
Boom truck cranes are available for sale in either mounted or unmounted form. Most units come installed on a truck (mounted), although trailer-mounted cranes appear from time to time. You’ll find unmounted boom truck cranes for sale in smaller numbers.
- Mounted boom truck cranes usually come affixed to a standard medium- or heavy-duty truck chassis. The result—a boom truck—typically has either a flatbed or service body, although the latter variety is generally less powerful. The tree crane may be mounted behind the truck’s cab, over its rear axles, or at the rear of the vehicle.
- Unmounted boom truck cranes are sold on their own, without a vehicle or other platform. In some cases, an unmounted tree cranes for boom truck builds may come as an integral part of a truck bed that can be mounted to a cab-and-chassis truck.
Boom Truck Crane Features
Larger boom truck cranes often have an attached, enclosed operator cab that turns with the boom, referred to as a “swing cabin.” The cab may tilt or elevate to help the operator maintain a good view of the work. Some tree crane trucks have the operator control the boom from inside the truck cab; these are called “fixed-cabin” boom truck cranes.
Still other boom trucks have controls near the turret, which the operator can use while standing on the ground next to the vehicle. Models with a remote control allow the operator to move away from the truck entirely to the best vantage spot for the task.
Boom Truck Cranes vs. Other Crane Types
A boom truck crane has either a telescopic boom that extends to its full reach with sliding sections like a telescope or a knuckle boom with articulated joints that unfold to the boom’s maximum length.
Knuckle boom cranes are popular for tree crane work because their joints allow them to reach around obstacles and into tight spaces.
Truck cranes are different from boom truck cranes, despite their similar names. The key difference is that truck cranes are constructed on custom carrier vehicles designed specifically for them, rather than the standard truck chassis of a boom truck that can be outfitted with a variety of knuckle boom or telescoping truck cranes from different manufacturers.
While truck cranes may offer greater lift capacity, tree service truck cranes provide a more compact and maneuverable alternative and can be driven without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in most areas of the U.S.
Compared to truck cranes, boom truck cranes are often preferred for their ease of transportation and ability to navigate tight jobsites. This makes them well-suited for applications at urban construction projects or residential tree trimming. Additionally, boom truck cranes can be a more cost-effective option for smaller-scale projects, offering a versatile and reliable solution for lifting and placing materials.
Where To Buy & Finance Boom Truck Cranes
Explore TreeTrader.com to find new and used boom truck cranes for sale, including mounted and unmounted varieties. Popular models for the tree care and landscaping industries include the Manitex 30100C, National NBT45 series, and Stellar 8630.
Top manufacturers of the boom truck cranes listed for sale on TreeTrader.com include Altec, Elliott, IMT, Manitex, National, Palfinger, Stellar, and Terex. Chassis providers include Peterbilt, Kenworth, Ford, Freightliner, and several other truck manufacturers.
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